In many areas around the world, houses, buildings, and other structures must be supported above the earth for stability and safety. Pilings, typically comprising a heavy beam of timber, are driven into the earth as a foundation or support for these structures. In most cases, these pilings are formed of timber beams having a substantially square cross-sectional shape. After the pilings are driven into the earth, they are cut to the appropriate height. It is critical that these pilings be cut to have a horizontally level top surface.
The preferred tool for cutting pilings is the portable chain saw. One disadvantage in using the hand-held portable chain saw is the difficulty the operator has in making a quick, level, and accurate cut. Consequently, it is desirable to mechanically support the chain saw as it is cutting the piling.
While a number of devices have been developed for supporting a chain saw on a work piece, they fall short of meeting the needs described above with respect to cutting an upright piling. More particularly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,274 discloses a mitering device for anchoring a chain saw to a horizontal timber. While this device is suitable for a horizontal timber, it fails to provide adequate support for a chain saw mounted in a vertical position on a piling because the frame only grasps two corners of the timber and does not provide for adjustment in the position of the chain saw cutting blade longitudinally along the timber for precise alignment with the cutting level. In addition, the device fails to provide any method for determining whether the chain saw is horizontally level prior to cutting.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,206 is directed to an adjustable tool support device for a chain saw. This device also is designed for use in cutting horizontally positioned timbers. In this regard, it fails to provide an easy method for adjusting the chain saw along the longitudinal axis of the timber, especially when the timber is in an upright position. Furthermore, the chain saw is not easily and quickly detachable from the supporting device. In addition, the device is overly complex and cumbersome because it is designed to position the chain saw about three different axes, which is not necessary to provide a horizontally level cut in an upright timber or piling.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 2,608,220 discloses a frame having a power saw attached thereto for mounting to an upright pole. This device discloses no method for allowing fine adjustment in the position of the power saw vertically along the longitudinal axis of the pole. In addition, there is no provision for attachment of a power chain saw. Rather, this device is directed to an underwater circular saw.
Because upright pilings require firm attachment of the chain saw while permitting fine adjustment in the position of the chain saw, there is a need for a piling cutting jig that enables the attachment of the jig to a piling that may project only several inches above the ground and permits fine adjustment in the vertical positioning of the chain saw to achieve the proper height. Finally, there is also a need for a means to horizontally level the chain saw so that even if the pilings were projecting out of the ground at an angle, the cut across the top of the piling would be horizontally level. Furthermore, because a number of pilings must be cut at one time, it is important that the chain saw be easily removable from the jig to allow repositioning of the jig on a new piling.